SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - On another difficult day for the racing industry, Arcangelo and his trainer Jena Antonucci continued to give the sport a lift as they added Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes to an ever-growing list of accomplishments. Coming off an 11-week layoff following his Belmont Stakes victory on June 10, Arcangelo tipped four-wide approaching the quarter pole under Javier Castellano, forged to the lead in upper stretch, then held a rail-rallying Disarm at bay to win the Travers by one length. Tapit Trice, among the early pace players, finished third, 4 1/2 lengths in front of favorite and 2-year-old champion Forte. National Treasure, the Preakness winner, finished fifth, followed by Scotland and Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner, who was last. The win was the fourth straight for Arcangelo - his third in a graded stakes - and put him atop the 3-year-old division heading into the fall. It was Castellano’s record-extending seventh Travers victory and made Antonucci - the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race in June - the second female trainer to win a Travers. She joined Mary Hirsch, who sent out Thanksgiving in 1938. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. “The significance of accomplishing anything in any gender at the top of any sport or industry is a gift,” Antonucci said. “It doesn’t come without every single person on our team.” A pall was cast over Travers Day when two horses died in races earlier on the card, making for eight racing-related fatalities through 33 days at the meet. One of those Saturday fatalities was New York Thunder, who seemed well on his way to victory in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens before suffering a broken left leg just outside the sixteenth pole. Nobel, a horse who finished sixth in a turf allowance race earlier on the card, also broke down and had to be euthanized on track. These fatalities led to the New York Racing Association putting out a release that indicated there would be an examination of the racing surfaces before a determination would be made on whether to race Sunday. Antonucci said she did not see the breakdowns earlier on the card, but was aware of them - but couldn’t let it deter her from the task at hand. “You just can’t, you've got to stay laser-focused, you give prayers and thoughts to all those connections because we’ve all been there,” Antonucci said. “The only way I know how to manage soldiering through is by staying focused on what we’re doing. I’m confident in the soundness of my horse, I’m confident in his ability, that’s where I have to stay.” Antonucci was confident in her ability to get Arcangelo to the Travers with 11 weeks between races. Birdstone, in 2004, was the last horse to win the Belmont Stakes and Travers with no race in between. Golden Ticket, in 2012, dead-heated for the win having not raced since May 5. “It wasn’t a layoff in our mind,” said Antonucci, who trains Arcangelo for Jon Ebbert’s Blue Rose Farm. “I understand the traditionalists of the sport are always going to view gaps in that manner. This horse has had his entire career that way. Jon wanted his horse to be brought along slowly, correctly, and given the time he needs to grow up. I feel we have respected that in the horse, Jon has respected that in the horse.” Castellano so respected Arcangelo that he was always leaning toward riding this horse over Mage, who had given him his first Kentucky Derby victory five weeks before Arcangelo gave him his first Belmont. In the end, the connections of Mage would not wait for Castellano to make a decision, announcing on Aug. 8 that Luis Saez would ride the horse. Ironically, Saez got injured in a spill here on Wednesday and Flavien Prat wound up riding Mage. In the Travers, Arcangelo got squeezed a little out of the gate and was fifth coming under the wire the first time. There was some clear room going into the first turn and Arcangelo had moved into a joint second, outside of National Treasure, both following Scotland. After a half-mile run in 48.10 seconds, Arcangelo found himself behind a trio of horses - Scotland, National Treasure and a blinkered Tapit Trice, who was closer to the pace than usual. Castellano, who joked that every other rider seemed to have a plan but him, found himself in an absolute dream spot. Around the turn, Castellano guided Arcangelo four-wide and toward the leaders. In upper stretch, Arcangelo took the lead and had one last challenger to hold off, a rail-skimming Disarm who, caked in dirt, came with a rally but did not come fast enough. “I feel like on the backside I had so much horse, I could have blown by them and opened up by 10,” Castellano said. “I just took my time, let it develop. I put him outside and after that I enjoyed my ride.” Disarm, equipped with blinkers for the first time, made a nice run along the rail under jockey Joel Rosario, who said he had to wait a stride or two when Scotland came in on him a little bit. “Turning for home I had to wait a little bit,” Rosario said. “For a second, I thought maybe we were going to get him, but he kept moving.” Mage was a bit rank early on under Prat and never really got into contention after dropping back to sixth down the backside. In a social media post after the race, the connections of Mage indicated that horse came back fine. “Just a bad day at the office,” assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. wrote on Twitter. “We congratulate Arcangelo and all his team, they certainly deserve it.” Arcangelo, a son of 2016 Travers winner Arrogate, covered the 1 1/4 miles over a good track in 2:02.23 and returned $7.40 to win as the second choice. He was given a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. Arcangelo has now added the Travers to victories in the Belmont and Peter Pan to take control of the 3-year-old division. “I just don’t think that way,” Antonnuci said. “Do I know we have a good horse? I do. And do I know that  if anyone else was saddling that horse he would have gone off the favorite today? I do. You don’t let the naysayers deter you, you let them motivate you and so this horse showed up. He’s class and honesty all day long and I’m so grateful for him.” Mike Repole, the co-owner of Forte, tipped his hat to Antonucci and Arcangelo. “After what happened, this is the best outcome that you could have for the Travers,” Repole said. “She deserves it. I’m not afraid to say it, that’s the top 3-year-old in the country.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.